The Artist & His Process

I was born in Algeria in March of 1948 in Oran, only a couple of hundred meters from the Mediterranean Sea where the water delicately laps the north coast of Africa, and occasionally explodes with angry storms. Algeria is a country of contrasts. It is at once soft yet violent. It is a place where both honey and blood flow freely. The air in Algeria is filled with the smells of spices, orange and rose flowers, and dark pine woods. Colors of sienna, red, ochre, and gold sand shine in the brilliantly bright sunlight. Beautiful and memorable places like La Fontaine des Gazelles, La Montagne des Lions, Mers el Kebir, and Ain el Turk, abound.

It was my family's good fortune that during World War II the US Marines landed in Algeria the same day as the Nazis. However, not long after WW II ended, the Algerian war for independence began. War continued to ravage Algeria from 1952 until Algerian Independence in 1962. I was fourteen in 1962, and the times were very dangerous. My family and I fled from Algeria leaving everything we owned behind. With the help of family and friends we found ourselves in Paris where we began anew.

The passion of painting took hold of me at a very young age. I created three paintings at the age of eight, while I was still living in Algeria, that stick in my mind to this day. One of them was of a red man with white hair, the second a painting of Idalgo Andalous, and the third was of an English countess. Once in Paris, I began attending regular school but I did not enjoy it. My Uncle Jean Cohen a Professor of Philosophy at Sorbonne University saw my frustration and lack of interest in school. Understanding what I was looking for Jean enrolled me in The Julian Academy, a well-known art school that many famous impressionistic and figurative painters attended. I remember being amazed on the first day of class when a nude model stood in front of the class. She stood so still she looked like a marble statue. The only darkness was her red hair, amber and fire. My teacher and the Russian Directress were astonished by the dexterity of my curves and my lines. I knew I would be an artist.

I would often skip school in order to visit the Louvre very early in the morning. At this hour the public had not yet arrived and admission was free to artists. I would study the rounded curves of Rubens' women or the "The Arrival of Catherine de Medicis to Marseilles." I contemplated the wonderful painting "Pieta D'avignon" with its gold leaf background and a Christ the color of opal. I didn't spend much time looking at De Vinci's ever popular Mona Lisa, because no matter the hour there were always people crowded around her. Instead I would enjoy myself by examining the amber and darkness of Clairs Obscures, masterfully painted by Latour in which one candle of gold light is hidden by the pale hand of a woman so real, it looks as if it is reaching across time.

At nineteen years old, intrigued by ideas of the Orient, I decided to leave Paris with my friend Jacob who was sixteen. Together we set out driving east. We were lucky enough, for part of our journey, to have the comfort of a brand new Mercedes (she was not so new after we fell into a ravine in Iran). In Kabul we had to sell her for we were running quite low on funds. Throughout the journey I studied the music, the architecture, the art, and the people we encountered. We had some amazing experiences. I was very interested in Tantrique art and the Mandala paintings of the Tibetan monastery, so I decided to climbed some mountains and spend a night in a female Buddhist temple. It was one of many memorable experiences. Our return path took us through the infamous Khyber Pass in Afghanistan. I carried with me, in a fox bag that had two tails, a large pistol. It held only one shot, but its shape was quite visible through the bag and this was enough to make most of the troublemakers keep their distance. We found other means of protection as well. One night we stopped in Kabul and found some wild dogs who were looking to be fed. We gave them some of the little food we had and all that night while we were out we had our own pack of guard dogs protecting us. For protection against the cold we had our long beards, and Astrakhan coats. Our epic journey ended in 1967 when we returned to Paris. I brought back with me many trunks full of Astrakhan coats, Indian jewelry, and silk scarves from Benares. After a few weeks in the artist district of Mont Parnasse, Paris, with a little help from the gray Parisian weather, I was able to sell all the coats with which I had returned.

I had trouble however, adjusting to the big city, so I decided to head south, back to North Africa where I rediscovered the blue sea, and the color of the Lapis Lazuli stone. This is a stone that the old painting masters used to create an Aquamarine color. I began experimenting with this technique and it is the one I am still using today to paint the sea and boats onto the clothing I create here on a small island in the Caribbean. The pigments I use are created from the recipes of ancient alchemists. The ingredients include powders of precious stones, semiprecious stones, and crystals, all bonded together with liquid Amber. My technique and creations are influenced by my life and my experiences, my friends and my enemies. Like the spontaneous patterns of sea spray floating in the air instants before falling to the sand, my creations are impossible to recreate. Each garment I create is a unique artistic creation, a painting in movement meant to be worn.

In the winter I paint my clothing, going with my boat to a small deserted Caribbean Island to gather inspiration. My creations are always influenced by the environment in which I create. My creation of cotton, linen and silk clothing reflects the colors of the Caribbean Sea, the forest of the Amazon and the thousand colors of the Negev desert sand. When I create here on my small Caribbean Island my only witnesses are a few Iguanas and the wind. The curves of the rocks and the imprint of the sand gives shape to my clothing. I fix my indelible colors, imprinting an instant of eternity that is always different.

Every summer I return to my fabric factory in Northeastern Brazil, where the "Morenas" (brunets), with skin the color of a mango, skillfully sew the Maogany collection that consists of more than 150 models for women, men, and children. They create this line of clothing out of super light and very strong fabric that will not wear out. Some of my clients sail around the world wearing my clothing and come back years later to show me how well the clothes have worn.

I also create customized portraits of boats, your current boat or the boat of your dreams. All the boats I paint are dream-boats whether they are painted on Mahogany wood, Canvas Linen, or on a shirt of your choice. For pricing on these custom creations please see the Custom Clothing page.